Five days ago I saw Roman Polański's "The Ghost Writer" - a great example of what filmmaking should and could be about these days. Unassuming, subdued, slow, yet very effective story-telling with a perfect musical score, well cast, well acted and making a few important points on the uneasy relationship between politicians and the society they represent.
Self-plagiarism will follow (based on the first viewing of the flick; the second viewing will inspire more comments in the nea future):
What I liked most about "The Ghost Writer" after the first viewing was cinematography, at times breathtaking, at times ascetic and unassuming, yet always perfectly in tune with the script. Kudos to the set decorator as well. The script condenses the novel in a very efficient manner, although the middle part drags a bit.
Actingwise, I enjoyed very much the work of Ewan McGregor, who usually leaves me cold, but here was practically perfect. However, the best performance in this film was given by Tom Wilkinson. His menacing creepiness was so palpable, so repulsive, his arrogant academic posturing so well caputred, and so familiar. ;) Jon Bernthal as the ghost writer's agent and James Belushi as John Maddox deserve special mentions, too.
I was a bit conflicted as far as the principal female characters were concerned, maybe because they weren't offered much in the literary original. For instance, I would love Ruth to be more complex and enigmatic, and Amelia turned out to be pretty much one-note both in the book and in the film. Kim Cattrall's body language, so reminiscent of her "Sex and the City" persona, didn't help, to be honest, although I liked the way she had to underplay her sexuality and stick to the game of appearances - certainly an interesting departure for the actress. We get a glimpse of how those two characters could be given more dimensions only at the very end of the story. Finally, Pierce Brosnan has great moments in the film, although structurally, the script conspires against him the way it does against Olivia Williams and Kim Cattrall: since Lang is available to us only from the PoV of the protagonist, his progression as a character is somewhat stunted.
I couldn't help comparing the story and the structure of this film to "The Ninth Gate", with the latter being generally more impressive in terms of the smaller roles (baroness Kessler and the Ceniza brothers come to mind, in particular). The comic quality of "The Ghost Writer" is less apparent compared to "The Ninth Gate", for obvious reasons, but it is there in all the right places. To give a few examples, the way Dep looks at the protagonist and the short dialogue with the Motel receptionist are hilarious as well as the Sisyphus efforts at cleaning leaves, and the cultivated Roy's resistance towards the cheeky, but shallow ghost writer at the beginning of the film.
Self-plagiarism will follow (based on the first viewing of the flick; the second viewing will inspire more comments in the nea future):
What I liked most about "The Ghost Writer" after the first viewing was cinematography, at times breathtaking, at times ascetic and unassuming, yet always perfectly in tune with the script. Kudos to the set decorator as well. The script condenses the novel in a very efficient manner, although the middle part drags a bit.
Actingwise, I enjoyed very much the work of Ewan McGregor, who usually leaves me cold, but here was practically perfect. However, the best performance in this film was given by Tom Wilkinson. His menacing creepiness was so palpable, so repulsive, his arrogant academic posturing so well caputred, and so familiar. ;) Jon Bernthal as the ghost writer's agent and James Belushi as John Maddox deserve special mentions, too.
I was a bit conflicted as far as the principal female characters were concerned, maybe because they weren't offered much in the literary original. For instance, I would love Ruth to be more complex and enigmatic, and Amelia turned out to be pretty much one-note both in the book and in the film. Kim Cattrall's body language, so reminiscent of her "Sex and the City" persona, didn't help, to be honest, although I liked the way she had to underplay her sexuality and stick to the game of appearances - certainly an interesting departure for the actress. We get a glimpse of how those two characters could be given more dimensions only at the very end of the story. Finally, Pierce Brosnan has great moments in the film, although structurally, the script conspires against him the way it does against Olivia Williams and Kim Cattrall: since Lang is available to us only from the PoV of the protagonist, his progression as a character is somewhat stunted.
I couldn't help comparing the story and the structure of this film to "The Ninth Gate", with the latter being generally more impressive in terms of the smaller roles (baroness Kessler and the Ceniza brothers come to mind, in particular). The comic quality of "The Ghost Writer" is less apparent compared to "The Ninth Gate", for obvious reasons, but it is there in all the right places. To give a few examples, the way Dep looks at the protagonist and the short dialogue with the Motel receptionist are hilarious as well as the Sisyphus efforts at cleaning leaves, and the cultivated Roy's resistance towards the cheeky, but shallow ghost writer at the beginning of the film.
